Note-sheet for stringed musical instruments.



un. 683,093. Patented Sept. ,24, 19m. r. w. woon a E. n. smes, 1n. UTE SHEET FOR STRINGED IUSICL INSTRUIEHTS.

(Application Mld Doc. 24, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIOII W'ILLIAM IVOOD AND EDWARD H. STILES, JR., OF KANSAS CITY,

MISSOURI; SAID WOOD ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE- THIRD TO SAID STILES.

NOTE-SHEET FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,093, dated September 24, 1901.

Application filed December 24,1900. Serial No. 40,944. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it 'Hw/y wwn: description of this picker will be necessary in 5o Be it known that we, FREDERiCH IVILLIAM order to make plain the operation of our in- WOOD and EDWARD H. STILES, Jr., citizens vention. of the United States, and residents of Kansas The picker-tip is pivotally connected at 5 City, in the county of Jackson and State of 6 to the end of the picker-rod 7 and is nor- Missouri, have invented certain new and usemally held in the position shown by two small ful Improvements in Note-Sheets for Stringed fiat springs 9, whose upper ends are secured to Musical Instruments, of which the following the picker-rod. Said rod is mounted slidingly is a specification. and non-rotatably in a stationary sleeve S.

I'o Our invention relates to improvements in 10 designates a bellows for reciprocating perforated note-sheets for use in the autothe rod 7 5 but other devices than the bellows 6o matic playing of musical instruments, and may of course be employed for this purpose.

more especially the playing of stringed in- 12 designates a transverse section of one of. struments in which the strings are picked the strings of the instrument. Movement of 15 by suitably-actuated reciprocating fingers. rod 7 in either direction causes the string 12 Our invention consists in a novel noteto be sounded, the tip o being pushed or sheet used in connection with a reciprocatory swung laterally in order to pass the string. picker or pickers and with a mechanism for A spring 13 is attached to the bellows 10 for depressing the strings of the instrument at acting in opposition to the outer air-pressure eo the frets, said mechanism being controlled which collapses the bellows, it being customby certain perforations in the note-sheet and ary to operate this bellows by exhausting the 7o the movements of the picker being controlled air therefrom. by certain other perforations in the note- The perforations f f f f in lines 5, 7, and 9 sheet, the pickel' being mounted so as to pick control` the fretting mechanism in the same 2 5 a string at both its advancing and retreating manner that the perforationsin string-line movements, the effect of which is that every control the picker. Supposing the sheet to perforation in the pickers lines of the notebe moving in the direction indicated by the sheet will cause two separate notes to be arrow at the left, when the advancing end sounded by the picker, the first note being a of perforation 1 passes over the pneumatic 3o sounded when the perforation first crosses tracker-bar, electrical contact, or other dethe opening in the tracker-bar and the next vice the picker moves across the string and 8o note being sounded when the same perforasounds a certain note and remains in that potion passes olf said opening, thereby cutting sition until the end b of perforation 1 crosses off the operating fluid from the usual pickerthe tracker-bar. Before this occurs, however,

35 Operating mechanism. In all note-sheets of perforation f in line 9 acts by causing the which we are aware a single perforation can string to be pressed upon fret 9, thereby produce but one note in the instrument with changing the pitch of the string. Now when which the sheet is used. the endbof perforationlpasses oif the tracker- We will proceed to describe our invention bar the operating force will be interrupted 4o with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, and the picker-actuating device 10 will autoin whichm matically cause its picker to recross the string, 9o

Figure 1 represents a portion of a notethis motion being effected by the spring 13 or sheet perforated in accordance with our inother suitable device. It will thus be seen vention and designed for playing a fourthat the string has been sounded twice by the 45 stringed instrument with teu frets. In this sole action of perforation l, the second note drawing the perforations for one string only being different from the iirst on account of are shown. Fig. 2 represents a preferred the action of perforation f in line 9. In the form of picker for use in connection with the same manner when perforation f in line 7 presentimprovement in note-sheets. Abrief reaches the tracker-bar the string will be fretted and then sounded by perforation 2, and When the end b of perforation 2 passes off the tracker-bar the picker Will again sound the string by its reverse movement. Two notes will be struck by each of perforations 3 4, and so on throughout the piece of music. The note-sheet will be provided with three more sets of lines forthe other three strings of the instrument. -It wil be noticed that the perforations l 2 3 are of dierent lengths, some of them being extended in orderto cause the succeeding note to be struck.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and Wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a stringed musical instrument, the combinatiomwith reciprocating pickers which strike the strings at the advancing and retreating movements of the pickers, and with any preferred fretting mechanism,of a musicsheet provided With a plurality of lines of perforations for controlling the pickers for the strings, and a plurality of perforations for controlling the fretting-fingers for changing the tones of the strings, said perforations for controlling the pickers for the strings being each of suiiicient length to embrace the Itime for sounding two consecutive notes,

whereby one of the notes is caused to be sounded by the advancing end of the perforation, and the next note is caused to be sounded by the retreating end of the same perforation; substantially as described.

2. In a stringed musical instrument, the combination, of a music-sheet provided with a series of lines of perforations, comprising as many groups of said lines as there are strings to be depressed at' the frets, one linev in each group containing perforations for controlling the pickers for the strings, the remaining lines in each groupcorresponding in number to the number of frets, and perforations in said lines for controlling the frettingfingers for changing the tones of the string, each of said perforations for controlling the pickers being of such a length as to embrace the time for sounding two consecutive notes; a reciprocatory picker which picks the string at the advancingand retreating movements of the picker, and any preferred fretting mechanism; said note-sheet and said picker eoacting to cause two notes to be sounded by each of said perforations for controlling the pickers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses:

OLIVE M. VAN DoRsToN, K. M. IMBODEN. 

